Personal development: why and how to take it in hand?

“I am master of my destiny, and captain of my soul”. These verses, from the poem Invictus written by the British writer William Ernest Henley, could in themselves sum up the concept of personal development and the formidable quest for self-realization.

personal development ideas
Personal development or fulfillment affects all aspects of our lives: life balance, self-improvement, self-confidence, self-esteem, etc. It can sometimes be difficult to navigate or get started as the subject is so vast. At Goalmap, personal development and well-being are at the heart of our business! This is why it seems important to us to share our tips and our vision to best guide you on your own personal development path. Let's go !

Article Summary
Personal development: definition
Why contribute to your personal development?
Who is personal development for?
Personal development, yes but accompanied!
How to keep your motivation intact to achieve your goals?
Personal development plan
Personal development techniques
Some simple personal development tools to stay motivated every day
Personal development: definition
Personal development is a global process of reflection on oneself and valuing one's potential with the aim of improving the quality of one's life and realizing one's deep aspirations. It can affect different aspects of life: professional, personal, spiritual, financial, relational, family. Actions and progress observed in one area generally have positive repercussions in others.

Through better self-knowledge, the individual understands and tends to realize his true aspirations through objectives to achieve. Personal development encompasses a lifestyle, a state of mind and a methodology to restore meaning to one's life.

From 1921, the pioneering work of Dr. Jung and Adler contributed significantly to theories around individual psychology. This is where the notion of personal development that we know today was built. Moreover, it was Adler who created the concept of “lifestyle” as a personal approach to life. In France, it was the psychotherapist Emile Coué who introduced the trend a few years later with his book “Self-control through conscious autosuggestion”. His technique consisted of repeating to himself 20 times for 3 days in a row a famous formula of autosuggestion “every day, in every way, I am getting better and better”: this is the famous Coué method!

Why contribute to your personal development?
Concretely, personal development aims to make us more fulfilled and happy in our lives. That’s a pretty honorable goal, isn’t it? Throughout our lives, we seek to meet needs to live in harmony with ourselves and our environment. These different needs were defined and classified by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow in 1943. He uses the shape of a pyramid to highlight the hierarchy between each category of needs:

Maslow pyramid of personal development needs
When the needs of one category are satisfied, individuals develop new needs belonging to the next category. The pyramid diagram illustrates the elevation of individuals as their needs are met. This elevation ultimately leads them to the realization of their potential.

Personal development corresponds to the need for accomplishment to which each of us aspires and which varies from one individual to another. This can be to develop skills, become the best version of yourself, enrich yourself, set an example, etc.

Realizing one's potential brings many benefits to one's self-esteem and quality of life: knowing how to assert oneself, making decisions in line with one's values, improving one's relationships with oneself and others, being more positive, gain autonomy, boost your creativity and develop new talent, etc.

Who is personal development for?
Often, personal development arises at a key moment in life: a shock, a trauma, an important turning point, etc. Many people talk about a trigger and then a need to change behavior, to change things to realign with themselves and their deep aspirations.

However, this trigger is not necessary to be interested in realizing your potential. Each of us can one day aspire to become a better person or improve certain aspects of our life. There is no distinction of gender, status or age: for example, Arthur and Damien,